Desmond Byrne

Desmond Byrne was an IRB officer during the 1916 Easter Rising. He was captured on 29 April 1916 following the IRB's unconditional surrender to the British, and he was imprisoned at Richmond Barracks alongside Eamon de Valera, Jimmy Mahon, Michael Collins, and several other prisoners. While in prison, he and most of the other prisoners accepted De Valera as their new leader, as he was the last surviving commandant during the uprising; Byrne warned Mahon not to mention De Valera's alleged cowardice, as many IRB members threatened to shoot anyone who claimed that De Valera was anything but a heroic commander.